Barbie's got a new and likeable body

In January 2016, Mattel announced its new Barbie Fashionistas line with petite, curvy and tall body types, seven new skin tones and various hairstyles.

Now the largest US toymaker is seeing the success of diversity with a worldwide sales increase of 15.8 percent in Q3 2016. Barbie sales jumped 16% compared to the same period in 2015 and, along with American Girl, helped power Mattel to net income of $236 million in Q3.

Part of its success stems from Mattel’s new campaigns like "You Can Be Anything" emphasizing the potential of women in various professions.

Mattel Creations also formed a multi-year partnership to develop cross-platform content by leveraging Tongal’s network of more than 120,000 creators.

The joint goal is to develop and produce "an amplified slate of content" based on Mattel’s library and intellectual property while Tongal uses its platform, marketplace acumen and experience to inform Mattel’s digital content strategy worldwide.

"Mattel Creations is dedicated to discovering new ways to share creative, captivating stories across all platforms. Our partnership with Tongal and its robust network of creators will enable us to build out an innovative, scalable offering of content for all channels and markets around the world," said Mattel CCO Catherine Balsam-Schwaber, of the announcment. "Tongal is re-defining the content model and we look forward to working closely with their team to further our brand strategies and build our storytelling platform."

Tongal has worked with more than 10 Mattel brands including American Girl, Thomas & Friends and Hot Wheels, as well as with LEGO, Nestlé, NASA, Unilever and General Motors.

Mattel continues to leverage the strength of its brands. In August 2016, it announced a multi-year partnership with Toys 'R' Us to open nearly 100 American Girl mini-shops within store locations to reach a wider customer base. Mattel products are also available in 1,100 Kohl’s locations.



Mattel has invited some mommy bloggers & media outlets to check out the new shop in shop.

Mattel continues to make some very good progress and continues to see real strength in core brands, according to Mattel CEO, Christopher Sinclair.

Barbie is proof that old dolls can learn new tricks—and that Mattel’s notion of diversity might be able to fill store shelves for a long time to come.